A Present for Dia
by Jenvaati
Summary: Dedicated to Rhianwen. It's Dia's birthday, and Gina is running out of time to give her best friend the perfect present.


Reason for dedication: Rhianwen wrote like twenty fics on Gina! So I thought that maybe someone should write one for her, if they hadn't already.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon: Magical Melody

Note: I didn't play the game in a really long time, so I apologize if it's horribly out of character. Please give me some feedback if it is!

And...yeah. I guess the story is really weird. Whatever. At least I tried. My little brother kinda sold Magical Melodies so I can't even play it and remember how anyone's supposed to be!

...Hope you enjoy it, at any rate.

A Present for Dia

It was one of _those_ days…

Gina walked through Flowerbud village aimlessly. She had approximately forty-five minutes to find Dia a birthday present, before she had to head back to the sanatorium and help her best friend get ready for bed. She wanted to get Dia something special, something that her friend would remember for the rest of her life. Something that showed how much Gina appreciated Dia.

That 'something' proved hard to find. She had no idea what she was looking for. She knew what she _didn't_ want to give Dia. She didn't want to give her friend blueberries. It was so boring, so overdone, even if the food is her favorite. Actually, Gina would rather she didn't give Dia food at all, because food is perishable, whether it is eaten or not. She wanted Dia to save her present for as long as possible.

The Junk Shop was filled with tools that Dia would never use.

The Spring farm was filled with seeds that Dia would never plant.

Woody's Workshop was filled with furniture that Dia didn't need.

Lyla's gift shop was closed because it was a Monday.

What was Gina going to do? Everything else sold food.

It started to rain, first gently, then harder. A half hour left. Gina walked to the Harvest Goddess Spring. It was calming there, though she didn't harbor a belief that the goddess actually existed.

A few types of flowers grew at the spring. Gina's eyes screened the foliage. Dia hated it all.

There was no time to make anything. A cake would have been wonderful, but Gina had been overworking for the past few days at the clinic. The time she had to herself was not enough to get ingredients and finish baking.

She took off her glasses and wiped them. Walking in the rain was difficult, for they would always fog up. Thunder and a flash of lightning. She still had twenty minutes left to find the special present.

_Grab anything and go_, Gina told herself.

The rain fell still harder, rendering it impossible to see. This wouldn't do. She had to find cover till the storm stopped. There was a small cave to the right of the path leading to Jamie's farm. She ran into it, soaking wet.

Gina's time was up. She didn't want to risk getting back to the sanatorium in the middle of the storm. Suddenly, she heard a soft '_meow_' near her. A small white kitten lay on its side, with a paw sticking up. The paw had a big thorn stuck into it, and the surrounding area was swollen and red.

Gina looked shocked. She put aside her problems for the moment to tend to the kitten. The poor thing must have dragged itself into the cave to get out of the rain, even in that condition. She reached for the animal, and all the hairs on the kitten stood up.

Gina stroked the kitten gently. It reminded her of Dia, who acted tough on the outside though hurt, but acted scared when someone came close enough to help. Dia was exactly like the kitten when she had first met her. The kitten was backing away from Gina, just like Dia.

Gina tried to coax the animal, ever gently. Soon it succumbed to her will, and Gina took a deep breath. A shriek came from the kitten a second later. The thorn came out. Gina ripped a piece of her dress and tied the paw with it.

The rain slowed and came to a stop. Gina smiled slightly. She started to leave the cave, but the kitten followed, limping carefully. She stopped and picked it up.

"You and Dia are so alike…perhaps you would be the perfect present…" said Gina softly. No one at the sanatorium was allergic to cats.

As soon as she reached the sanatorium, Gina found three people waiting for her at the door. Martha, Alex, and Dia all wore worried expressions.

Martha spoke first. "You're back, dear! You had us worried sick. You shouldn't have walked out in that storm!"

"Are you okay, Gina? Let me check if you caught a cold," said Alex.

"You're late, Gina. You're never late…" said Dia. She looked faint.

"I'm fine, doctor," said Gina. "I'm just a bit wet. Dia, happy birthday!" Gina smiled widely as she said this, and handed her friend the kitten.

"Oh…a kitten?" Dia noticed the paw. "Is it hurt?"

"Yes…I treated it, but I thought that you would like to take care of it yourself," said Gina. She was pulled into a hug, with Dia's expression changing for worried and sickly to excited and happy.

"You're always taking care of me, Gina," explained Dia. "I always wanted to repay you. I always wanted to do the same thing for someone…now I can do it for the kitten."

Gina hugged the girl back. "You don't have to repay me. You getting well is the main thing!"

"You're a true friend, Gina. Did you name the kitten yet?" asked Dia.

"No. I wanted to leave that up to you," said Gina.

"She's Little Gina," said Dia quietly. "I believe that that is the best name for her."

"Let's call her Lil Gina for short," said Martha.

"I'm not a vet, but I can check Lil Gina for sicknesses," said Alex.

"Please do so," said Dia. "Thank you, all of you…you made today the best birthday I ever had."

Gina glowed. Mission accomplished.

**End**


End file.
